Ideas for design was publicly called for in 1981 when independence as a crown colony of the United Kingdom was decided. The design takes heed of those flags of the two political parties, and as a result, turned out to be similar to that used during the British colonial Honduras days in the 1950s. In the center is the national emblem, which depicts a man with an ax and oar on his shoulder and a Mahogany tree, which is a national commodity.